Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg dismissed charges against nine defendants charged in poker rooms busts in May, citing potential conflicts with a former consultant and political fundraiser in her office.

Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

The prosecutions of two Houston poker rooms collapsed Tuesday as Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg dismissed felony money laundering charges against nine defendants, citing a potential conflict of interest involving a former contract employee and campaign donor.

In a release announcing the dismissal of charges, Ogg said she referred the cases to the FBI and said county prosecutors would file paperwork to return about $206,000 in gambling proceeds seized by police in the May 1 raids at the Post Oak Poker Club and Prime Social Poker Room.

Ogg’s statement did not identify the former employee and said she was “not at liberty” to discuss the conflicts. Defense lawyers in the poker room cases, however, identified the individual as Amir Mireskandari.

Brett Podolsky, an attorney for a Post Oak Poker Room defendant, said prosecutors two weeks ago informed defense lawyers they had discovered Mireskandari’s alleged involvement with the gambling establishments.

“We were told there was a conflict of interest, that it revolved around him being involved in some sort of consulting in regard to the game rooms, while at the same time being employed by the DA’s office,” Podolsky said.

Defense attorney Chip Lewis, who is representing a separate Post Oak defendant, and a lawyer for a Prime Social defendant confirmed Podolsky’s account.

The district attorney’s office said it would not comment beyond the news release.

Mireskandari has held a consulting contract with the district attorney’s office since January 2017. According to county records, Ogg signed three consecutive one-year contracts with Mireskandari to help her office investigate and prosecute “complex financial and economic crimes.” Under the contract, Mireskandari was paid $1,100 a month. Records from the county auditor’s office show he was paid $18,337 between February 2017 and May 2018. He has not billed the county since last May.

Ogg, however, signed a new one-year contract with Mireskandari in February.

Police raided both poker clubs in as part of an investigation led by district attorney’s office.

The nine defendants, which included owners and employees of both poker rooms, were charged with several counts, including money laundering, engaging in organized criminal activity and gambling promotion.

In her statement, Ogg said her office discovered the possible conflicts of interest and decided to have an outside agency — the FBI — review the cases.

The Houston Chronicle had asked the district attorney’s office about Mireskandari on June 28, but the office did not provide his contracts to a reporter until Tuesday morning. Her statement regarding the dismissal of charges was released several hours later.

Mireskandari and his wife have contributed heavily to Ogg’s political campaigns. Between 2016 and 2017, the couple gave $14,475 in monetary and in-kind donations.

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Ogg held two fundraising events at the couple’s $3.2 million Memorial home. At one, Mireskandari picked up a $5,475 catering tab for an event there, Ogg’s campaign finance reports show. An advertisement for an April even lists Mireskandari as a member of the campaign’s finance committee.

Mireskandari is the CEO and managing partner of Mires, Ran Clark and Associates, a Houston business consulting firm. The Chronicle profiled Mireskandari in 2014 when he launched an online rug selling business.

After the raids, the Harris County Attorney’s Office filed a civil suit against the clubs, hoping to shut them down as a nuisance.First Assistant County Attorney Robert Soard said Friday evening he had just learned Ogg dismissed the criminal charges, and his office was considering how to proceed with the civil case.

A spokeswoman for the Houston field office of the FBI said the bureau would review the documents sent by Ogg’s office with federal prosecutors.

Zach Despart covers Harris County for the Chronicle, including Commissioners Court and flood control. He came to Houston from the Burlington Free Press in Vermont and was also the managing editor of the Houston Press. In 2017 he won the Best Feature award from the Association of Alternative Newsmedia for his feature on Venezuelan corruption in Houston and Miami. He is a New York native and graduate of the University of Vermont. Follow him on Twitter or email him at zach.despart@chron.com.